Two Royal Oak Leprechauns Make it to the Majors
(Mark H. Stowers, July 15, 2024)
Royal Oak, MI – Two Royal Oak Leprechauns were taken in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft today.
Jake Jekielek, a member of this year’s team who was recently selected as a Northwoods League All Star was drafted by the Texas Rangers as the 315 th pick overall in the 10 th round.
Earlier, former player, Derek Clark – a member of the 2021 team – was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels with the 262 nd pick overall in the ninth round.
Both players were coached collegiately and with the Royal Oak Leprechauns by Jonathan Vance at Northwood University.
Jekielek has been a stalwart reliever for the Leprechauns this season. Now in his second season in the NWL having played with Battle Creek last season. He’s been on fire on the mound appearing in 13 games garnering two wins, one loss and seven saves over 24.2 innings pitched. He’s given up only 10 hits and four runs (two earned runs) while collecting 29 strikeouts, giving up 10 walks to post a .073 ERA. The Northwood University senior reliever has a career 4.46 ERA in 105 innings over 70 appearances.
Clark spent one season at West Virginia University after transferring from Division II Northwood University. A left-handed pitcher, Clark tossed four complete games, throwing 97.2 innings with a 3.23 ERA. He finished with 91 strikeouts while walking only 23 batters. Clark, a 5-foot-9 left-handed pitcher, became the first former Northwood player taken since 2019, when the St. Louis Cardinals took David Vinsky in the 15th round. He holds Northwood records for career wins (23), innings pitched (264) and strikeouts (259). He also holds season records for innings pitched (103) and strikeouts (104). He was named an NAIA all-American in 2023.
Congrats to both these hard-working Leprechauns. We’re rooting for you!
Learn more about the Royal Oak Leprechauns at https://northwoodsleague.com/royal-oak-leprechauns/
